Down With the Sickness
by Shomichii
Summary: When L falls sick to a life-threatening sickness, Raito has plans to get all of his secrets out of him before he dies. But with the detective stubbornly holding on, that proves to be more difficult than he thought.
1. Chapter 1

Hi all~

So, I'm not sure how many of you are still even on FF after... six or seven years, but I'm either adding on to or completely rewriting some of my things. Some of them, I'll probably just delete and forget about for the rest of my life because there is no point in trying to save them. XD;

Anywho, I hope you enjoy my second attempt at Down With the Sickness.

* * *

Raito wasn't a fool. As much as L liked to think he was much less intelligent, Raito was observant. He noticed people's nervous little habits, their gestures, the way they liked to sit, eat, and talk. L liked to nibble on his thumb when he was thinking, or when he was interested in something. He liked to it with his knees to his chest like some child was that put in time out. When he was on a roll, he spoke quickly but evenly, never giving anyone any time to interject, and he spoke without drawing one breath in the middle of his dialogue.

So when he spoke almost lazily, and he started to sit like a normal person, he almost thought that was strange for him. Seeing him acting and sitting relatively normal - now that was strange for L. He teased him about it sometimes, but L just sighed, like he was tired.

Then one day, it happened. Everyone started to go home, Raito starting to leave with his father. L was ahead of him, nearly dragging his feet. Before he reached the door, he stopped, shaking his head and putting a hand to his face. "... Ryuuzaki?" Raito asked curiously, his eyebrows knitting.

"I'm fine." He said, reaching for the handle, but before he touched it, his head tilted backward and his body went in the same direction. Raito caught him out of reflex, his eyes widening. His eyes were closed for once, and his neck was bared as his body went limp. He had never seen the detective's body so relaxed before, and for a moment, he wondered if this was some kind of trick. If he didn't react quickly enough, L might add it to his petty little list of "Why Raito-kun is Kira". But then his breathing slowed drastically and his face became paler than usual, and he knew this wasn't a trick.

At first, his heart started to bang against his chest in happiness. If he could stall the team, L could be dead before he got help. This annoying, immature, smart-ass of a detective could be _DEAD,_ and then nothing would stop his plans for world domination. He felt a psychotic little grin start tugging at the corners of his lips, but then he remembered that everyone else was watching.

He grunted as he curled his other arm under L's knees, realizing that he felt a lot lighter than he did when they were chained together. L was still breathing, but he didn't look good. "We need to call an ambulance. Dad-"

"No." Watari said. Raito was surprised. He... wanted him to die? "L has a personal doctor. He's very close by, so put him in his room. I'll call on him."

Raito blinked. He'd rather have him be checked out by some doctor on house-call than medical professionals at a clean, sanitized hospital? He nodded slowly and quickly walked to the elevator. He turned around, the doors sliding shut... and he waited, finally grinning. He would let him expire, right here, and if the others asked, he could just tell them there was something wrong with the elevator, he tried his best -

"Papa, why are you smiling like that?"

Raito's eyes darted down to L's face, his grin wavering slightly. His eyebrows pinned down. "Ryuuzaki?"

L looked like he was having trouble trying to keep his eyes open, but he was looking Raito in the eye. "I didn't... do anything wrong." He said, his breaths becoming a little shallow, and he could feel the detective's hard beating faster and faster with a hand on his back. "He was there... you can ask..." His eyes rolled to the back of his head again, going limp once more.

What the fuck was that? Hmm... If he was delirious, perhaps he could get some more information out of him before he died. That could be useful. He pressed the button to get to L's hotel room. He could extend the game a little longer.

* * *

Raito placed L on his bed, looking at him as he tried to come around again. Before the doctor got there, maybe he could get his name, where he came from...

"Raito... Why are we up here?" L asked quietly, before coughing. "Ugh... I don't feel good..." He tried to sit up, but Raito pushed him back down.

"Stay down, Ryuuzaki, you're sick. The doctor's coming for you." He told him, an even look on his face. He WOULD get it out of him, one way or another. He would play with him for the time being, act like the caring friend everyone thought he was... Then he would _crush_ him. The thought of it made him feel giddy.

The door opened and a man that looked barely 25 came into the room. He had auburn hair, and blue eyes. He had light olive skin, and he looked to be European... but he looked like he could be half-Asian, too. He walked by Raito, as if he wasn't even there.

"Now's your chance."

Raito jumped slightly as he looked up at Ryuk, not having noticed him even floating towards him. The Shinigami's eyes seemed to be on the doctor, concentrated, even narrowed slightly. Raito didn't say anything, obviously the doctor would hear him talking to thin air, but he gave Ryuk a curious look.

They watched as the doctor worked on L, despite the detective's protests. "I'm fine... I just need... rest..." He coughed more harshly now, jerking up in bed. Raito saw droplets of blood fall on the sheets and he made a face.

The doctor sighed, shaking his head. "You're too stubborn for you own good, Ryuuzaki-san. We've been through his before..." He pushed him back down, continuing to work on him.

Ryuk blinked, tilting his head, like he was trying to figure the doctor out. He floated forward a bit, looming over him, one bony hand reaching out slowly. Raito's eyes widened as he touched the man's hair that touched down to the back of his neck, and saw the doctor shudder slightly, stopping for a moment. He turned with an almost insulted look on his face and narrowed his eyes, scowling through Ryuk and at Raito.

"What?"

"Um... Nothing." The doctor mumbled, shaking his head. Before he finished, he gave L a shot ("No, I don't like needles," L complained, squirming even though his coughing was getting slightly worse, but the doctor replied with "too bad, deal with it.") and set a bottle of pills next to his bed. "In two days, take those twice a day. When you wake up, and before you go to sleep. We've been through this before... Do you want a repeat of last time?"

L pouted, shaking his head.

"Good... If you need _anything_ from me, don't hesitate to call... and I mean it, Ryuuzaki-san. Pride is such a foolish thing to hold on to when your life is on the line." He gave him a look that said "damn it, I mean it" before packing up and walking out.

Ryuk sighed, watching him leave. Raito gave the Shinigami a scrutinizing look. "Something wrong?" He asked under his breath.

"... Heh. Nah."

* * *

The doctor is my own character that I made up from my head, it's no one from the series. In case you were wondering. ^^

Review, favorite, follow - Just let me know how (if) you like it. I tried to keep L from being TOO OOC, but since this is a rewrite, trust me when I say he's a lot less out of character than the first time I tried this.

Hope you enjoyed~


	2. Chapter 2

Raito watched Ryuk, who was staring out the window, seemingly in some kind of concentrated trance. The teen was sitting on the edge of the bed while L rested, trying to concentrate on his studies. Just because he wasn't going to school anymore didn't mean he couldn't keep himself sharp for when he did return. But Ryuk was making it a little difficult... and it was annoying him a little.

The Shinigami would just stare off into the distance, still as a statue, but then something would catch his eye. His head would jerk, and he would straighten up, his gaze following... something. At first, Raito thought that perhaps it was just someone who's time was up, and they were being followed by another Shinigami, despite Ryuk's claim that they never went to the human world... There was also the possibility that he was so bored that he just took up people watching, and stood at attention when he saw someone of interest.

But then he learned who that interesting person was.

Raito noticed that when he saw L's doctor on the street, he would catch Ryuk's attention, his eyes following his figure until he couldn't see him anymore. Even when he went into a cafe or store, Ryuk would watch, kind of like a... puppy, waiting for its master to come home again, and then follow his figure with his eyes down the street again. The look on his face when he saw him was strange, and it unsettled Raito slightly. He couldn't put a name to it in the beginning, but eventually felt the right word for it would be obsession.

He licked dry lips, closing the book and dropping it on the bed beside him. What he was about to ask him was awkward, and he was glad that L was asleep. Hopefully absolutely unconscious, at this rate. "Ryuk." He said quietly. "I've seen you go through people before. How did you touch him?"

Ryuk knew exactly who he was talking about, because he chuckled. "I don't know, Raito. I'm not supposed to be able to touch anyone." Even though he sounded genuinely clueless, he couldn't help but note the smirk in his voice. He knew something.

Raito tilted his head, trying to pretend that his next question wasn't too personal for a God of Death. "So if you _can_ touch someone, can you... be... er... _intimate_ with them?" He asked carefully, drumming his fingers on his leg.

Ryuk tilted his head back and cackled. "Hyuk! Why, Raito, you never ask these many questions about me." He looked back at him, giving that maniacal grin Raito usually saw him with. "What, did you want to experiment?"

Raito felt like puking. "Ugh. No, Ryuk. I was just... curious."

The Shinigami snickered. "Trust me, Raito. There are some things you don't want to know."

* * *

"Nngh... Uck!" L leaned over the toilet as he got rid of that day's lunch and dinner. He didn't see the use in eating anymore, but Watari insisted... He had told him it would help, but all it seemed to be doing was speeding the process along. He knew he should have called Akira hours ago to help watch over him, but what could he possibly do? Remind him that he was dying, and that the next day he would have to remember to take his pills to extend this torture?

When he was finished, he started to shed his clothes, feeling hot and cold at the same time, sweat running from his temple to his neck and under his shirt, which he promptly threw on the floor.

"L, are you - what are you doing?"

L swallowed thickly, trying to fight the urge to expel more bile from his body. "Taking a shower." He croaked slowly, closing his eyes as he stood up, turning the water on as hot as it would go.

"You need to lay down. I'll tell Watari-san to call the doctor-"

L let out a hoarse laugh, kicking off his pants and boxers, before stepping inside the shower. It felt so good, the pounding in his head and body slowly coming to a tolerable throbbing, the water feeling like what he could only consider relief, cascading down in the form of steam and water droplets. He leaned against the wall, letting himself slid down to sit on the shower floor, closing his eyes as the water hit his face and hair. "You..." He said, another wry laugh coming from his sore throat. "You don't care what happens to me... You wish for me to be dead. You could kill me right now if you wanted to, and no one would suspect a thing. I'm dying as we speak, Raito... I can only imagine how you must feel, knowing that I won't be here much longer." He heard the boy shuffling around in the bathroom, but didn't look at him. He could be pulling out whatever instrument Kira used to kill all of those men in prison, and he didn't care. "Just let me die in peace... Please."

There was silence, and then he heard the shower door opening. He cracked open his eyes to see Raito stepping in, naked. He grabbed the shampoo bottle that L used, and crouched down in front of him, pouring some in his hand.

L snorted. "Are you going to try and poison me now?" He scoffed.

"I will, if you don't shut up." Raito said, before he began to wash L's hair. The detective blinked owlishly a few times. First, at the surprisingly nice feeling, and two, at the kindness. What was he trying to prove?

"... Raito-"

"Quiet." He growled, before grabbing his arm. "Get up."

L groaned softly, doing as he said, closing his eyes as Raito pulled his head under the water. He felt his hands going through his soaked hair again, getting the shampoo out, and he relaxed. That felt... so good. He sighed softly, letting the teen do what he wanted.

"Turn around."

L opened his eyes to look at him, but Raito just gave him a patient stare. The detective turned around, bracing his hands up against the wall when he felt Raito washing his body, running the washcloth over his skin. "I can do that, Raito. I'm not a child."

"But you weren't going to, were you?" He asked, moving down his front. When he'd washed everywhere but down south, he paused, his hand and the wash cloth resting on his abdomen.

L felt his cheeks tingling with a blush, making no effort to stop him. He knew he wouldn't try to jack off a sick man, especially when he'd witnessed him puking blood into the toilet moments earlier. Still, he bit his bottom lip when he felt his hand going down again, over his hips, his thighs, his -

He gasped softly when he felt him wrap the warm material around his length. This surprised him, and it was something he wouldn't have put past him before, when they were chained together. It was the perfect time, and they'd had enough privacy to do that. But... now? When he felt like death itself with a weak body?

On second thought, maybe _this_ was the perfect time.

He felt a shiver go down his spine when he began to move his hand up and down, coaxing his now aching member to life, his hips moving slowly and his eyes lidding halfway. "R... Raito..." He said quietly, almost not trusting himself to speak. "What do you think you're doing?"

The felt the teen press his chest against his back, and L was pleasantly _horrified_ to realize that he fit perfectly against his frame. "Do you want me to stop?" He heard against his ear, and L was tempted to turn his head to look at him.

"N... No." He admitted, his breath hitching again. What the hell was he saying?

He felt something coiling, spreading throughout his abdomen, making unwanted, breathy noises escape his throat, his eyes squeezing shut. He came, tossing his head back on Raito's shoulder, his body giving a great shudder as he did so.

Raito let him recuperate before he turned the water off and dropped the wash cloth. L felt weaker than before, and much more tired, but contentedly so. When the teen tried to leave him, the detective nearly tipped over, but caught himself on the shower wall, and heard Raito let out an amused chuckle. "Ryuuzaki... is that your first time doing... anything?"

L swallowed. "No... But it's the first time anyone's ever touched me."

Raito raised an eyebrow, but helped him out of the shower, setting him on the closed lid of the toilet seat, giving him a towel to dry his hair and body.

"Raito-kun..." L nearly whispered, rubbing the towel slowly over his head. "Why did you do that?"

Raito didn't have a good answer himself. Normally, he would have blanched at the thought of something like that with the detective but it just... felt right. "Why did you let me?" He countered.

He heard the detective sigh, drying off his body and letting the towel drop to the floor. "I'm not in the position to fight you. If you had really wanted to, you could completely overpower me... It wouldn't have mattered if I wanted that or not."

Raito frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly. Was L... admitting defeat? Giving up? The detective stood up, using the sink counter to push himself up right. "You look disappointed." He said, leaving him to get dressed, and collapse on the bed.

The teen distractedly dried himself off, frowning deeply, not aware of the Shinigami smirking at him. "You _pity_ him." Ryuk snickered. "The one person in the world you _have_ to kill, and you pity him on his death bed."

Raito felt his face flush. It wasn't that, it was... Well, he didn't know exactly, but he didn't pity anyone. L didn't deserve his pity. "At least he can see me." He spat, before walking out, pulling on his clothes.

* * *

So, ehm, the smut wasn't exactly intended in this chapter. Actually, when it first came to mind, I had decided _against_ it because I thought it was a bad time, but... it worked out that way, anyway. Stupid brain, not doing what I want it to.

For those who are wondering, I AM concentrating more on Raito and L's pairing than Akira and Ryuk. They're just a side story to amuse me and break people's hearts.

Review, tell me if you liked it, if you hated it, or somewhere in between.


	3. Chapter 3

L jerked awake, sitting up so quickly that he became dizzy immediately. He held his head, feeling like he was going to vomit again. He groaned, trying to kick the covers back, but they just got tangled in his legs.

Raito had watched this happen all through the night, and he realized he _did_ feel a little pity... But only the pity you feel when a new born puppy is crawling around in an attempt to find its mother. He sighed and pulled the covers back for him, eyeing his pill bottle. He couldn't start making him take his pills for another day, but he was tempted to shove a few down his throat now. That shot didn't seem to be helping at all.

L went to stand up, only to fall back against the bed. "Urgh...Just kill me already." He groaned, attempting to get up again, only for Raito to pull him back on the bed.

"Just lay down. I'll be back." He said, despite L's complaining. He came back with a glass of water, turning the lamp on. "You haven't ingested anything since this morning. If you feel like you're dying, it's because your body has nothing to function off of." He said flatly. "Sip."

"No." He protested, turning his head. "Everything comes back up... I can't take it anymore."

Raito grabbed his chin with his free hand. "Maybe you have to suffer a little before you get better. _Drink_ Ryuuzaki, before I make you."

L glared at him, but took the glass anyway. He held the edge up to his lips for a moment, hesitant. He looked at Raito again, who only gave him an impatient scowl. The detective slowly sipped, feeling relief on his throat, but the uncomfortable shifting in his stomach.

After emptying the glass only a quarter of the way, he set it down. "I can't."

"You're dehydrated, Ryuuzaki."

"And you're Kira. Now I know we can both state the obvious." He snapped weakly.

Raito had to bite his tongue from arguing back. On second thought, maybe that injection was working after all. He reached over him and turned the lamp off. "Go back to sleep if you're going to be difficult."

L stared at him trough the darkness, watching him settle back down again. "You have to know that I'm dying, Raito-kun. Are you here to watch me wither away? That's sadistic, even for Kira."

Raito wanted to be mad, turn around and strangle him, or suffocate him with a pillow. He pointed out earlier that day that he could over power him easily now. It wouldn't take much. But... there was that sad tone again. A tone of defeat, of surrender. He had already decided he was going to die, like there was no chance in hell he would recover. How would he know that?

Then again, that doctor had said something about "last time"...

Raito sighed softly. It would be no fun to go back and forth with him if he didn't have any fight left. "No, L, I'm here because I want to... support you. I believe you're going to survive through this. You've never let anyone defeat you before."

"This isn't a person out for my life." He scoffed, hugging a pillow to his stomach. "This is my body, killing itself. It's in self-destruct mode."

"Then fight back." Raito said firmly.

L looked at his face, giving him a sad smile. He wished that Raito meant those words.

That afternoon, Raito sat with L's laptop in his lap, going through his "mail". He needed to make sure that Misa was following his orders. If L made it through this sickness, he was going to need evidence to prove himself innocent and extend their game a little longer. Once he made sure Misa was "taken care of", then he would get rid of L, when he was healthy and had everything to live for. That was the only way he would end him.

He saw L's back arch slightly, and he coughed sharply. He glanced at him out of the corner of his eye to see blood running down the corner of his mouth, but he still seemed to be asleep, his breathing weak.

Raito watched in horror and morbid interest for five seconds, before he snapped out of it and grabbed L's phone from the bed rest beside the unconscious detective. He found the doctor's number and called him quickly. "L is dying, and you need to get here, quickly. Bring everything you have." Without giving him a chance to ask any questions, he hung up, leaning over and tapped his cheek.

"L, wake up. You need to fight right now. I'm not letting you die on me like this." He patted his cheek a little harder. Not a flinch, a grunt, or even fluttering of eyelids.

He cupped his cheeks, considering slapping him awake, but the Kira side of him knew he would never get a chance like this again. To see L defenseless, no guard, completely at his mercy.

His skin was soft, softer than he thought it would be, but cold. His pinky and ring finger rested against his dully beating pulse, pale skin on his neck looking like porcelain. He supposed he was... _attractive_ in his own way. The same way that homeless people might be interested in each other to keep warm, maybe.

His pulse started to pick up slightly and he inhaled deeply, his eyes starting to open. "Rai... to." He struggled, fighting to keep his eyes focused on his face, coughing again. "Can't... nngh..."

Raito carefully helped him sit up, L's head resting against his shoulder, his body mostly limp. "Your Doctor is on his way."

"Not... enough." He wheezed, covering his mouth with his hand again. "He won't-"

"Do me a favor and shut up until he gets here."

They only had to wait ten minutes for the door to swing open, and Akira came in with a very large suitcase, and an IV. He stood by the bed, opening the suitcase. "I was hoping you wouldn't have to go through this again, Ryuuzaki. I'm sorry."

L only looked at him, his vision blurry. "Let me go." He begged, trying to sit up on his own.

"Yagami-kun, hold him for me. Make sure he doesn't squirm too much." Akira ordered, setting up the IV quickly, not looking at L. He didn't need to, knowing it was about to get worse for him. He had really hoped it wouldn't come to this again, to witness what his own father had all those years ago.

He grabbed his arm while Raito held him securely against his torso, the stress making him cough even harder, squirming weakly to try and move away. The doctor inserted the IV into a vein in his wrist, and a clear liquid made its way from the bag to the needle. "He'll need this until the coughing stops... The injection should have helped that and the vomiting, but it's different this time, I suppose."

L turned his head to look at him. "Why...? You know-"

"Yes, I know very well, Ryuuzaki, but I'm not letting you die. You're..." he looked at Raito, realizing that if he revealed too much they could both be in trouble. "I want to see signs of improvement, then I will remove this. It'll be soon enough, I promise." He glanced at Raito again. "You can let him go now. Lay him down."

The teen started to do so, but L grabbed his shirt. "No... this is okay." He said quietly, coughing softly.

Raito blinked owlishly, exchanging a curious look with Akira, but shrugged. This was so unlike L, but being sick was also unlike him. Maybe this vulnerability was something he could get used to.


End file.
